Elevate your Understanding: Assert your Rights

So you’ve had enough of the Police violating you and overstepping their boundaries? Maybe they have become a public nuisance in your town, city or county. Its an increasing anomoly that is ever-prevailing in our society. I have pondered it for the last several years as the budgets for law enforcement rise drastically – technology for surveillance seeps into our lives like dairy farm odor at 4am on Saturday morning.

Law Enforcement are being taught that citizens are enemy combatants. They are training their officers how to violate peoples rights – leaving the citizens not knowing or befuddled as they lay on the ground being searched, ridiculed and belittled because they happened to use their freedom to fit a fact pattern which, unknowingly triggers a preemptive confrontation with Law Enforcement. Have you been there? How did you fair? In the past twenty years, I have analyzed my own approaches with the Police and how I responded to their request for information, investigations and slight undertones they use to extract information. Do not be fooled, if you ever have the opportunity to experience a LEO confrontation – pay attention to the questions – Several things you should notice and be aware of:

(1) The initial approach – Normally its voluntary however, it can escalate fast depending on the variables and your responses. You should have a scripted response based on these parts of the encounter.

(a) The Greeting – Hi how are you whats your name? Attempt to get your name. Ive responded before – I’m alive and may I leave?

(b) The Questions – Where are you coming or going? These are attempts to get other intel about your logistics and personal information. You have no duty to respond. I suggest being polite and giving no responsive replies. Ie… Police-Where are you coming from? Citizen- Man, its a beautiful day. Police- Where are you headed to? Citizen- Wow, have you tried that new Thai restaurant around the corner? Question for question.. is an interesting tactic. Half the time, they will not even realize your tooling them. But some do and may become aggressive at that point. Leading into The Request…

(c) The Request – many times framed as a demand. Gimmee your ID. Let me see your ID. Identify yourself. It sounds like a command that if you do not comply you will be arrested. Not necessarily the case at all.

In front of Tiki Bob’s in Shockoe Bottom several years back, I had a Richmond Cop pull up outside the Bar, hit his lights, get out of his vehicle with the door left open and walk over to me with his hand on his gun. He was a big meat head- jock African American Cop that obviously had a bully complex. He got in my face(1inch from it) and yelled – Give me your Drivers License. I said “no”. He had a fit. Jumped up and down and demanded it again. I said – Im not driving a car right now and I’m not committing a crime. He said – if your not guilty of committing a crime – let me see your license. I said – “No”. Literally screaming at me, the Cop, as he was attempting to invoke fear – said “I will arrest you, if you dont identify yourself”. I said and if you detain me then I will give you Id. What crime am I being detained for? The guy was sweating bullets and huffed off and got in his cruiser and peeled out away from the Bar. The Point is – Just because they tell you to do something, you do not have to comply no matter how loud, frantic and condescending and threatening they are to you.

To reiterate – Unless LEO have expressed a suspicion that you have or are committing a crime – this request is not “imperative” meaning they are ASKING you to consent to showing them or divulging your identification or identity. There are exceptions and one being – if you are driving a car, you must identify. The other big one is – Do they have a reasonably articulable suspicion that you have or did commit a crime.

(i)Officer what is your reasonably articulable suspicion that I have committed a crime? They have a duty to disclose that they are suspicious of you- if that is the case. If they fail to disclose or their is no suspicion –

(ii) Officer – are you detaining me – Or am I free to go? Again – if they are detaining, searching or further investigating your identity or “person”, then they have to have a suspicion that they can reasonably articulate to you. If they continue asking you questions and refuse to let you leave –

(iii) Officer – if you have no reasonably articulate suspicion that I’ve committed a crime and you are detaining me and not allowing me to leave, would you please allow me to contact my attorney. I have no further comments to you about anything.

Examples of reasonably articulate suspicions are not

(1) Being a minority

(2) Walking down a certain street at a certain time.

(3) Driving a certain kind of car with certain kinds of wheels on it.

(4) Wearing a certain type of clothing.

(5) Being present and in the vicinity of a crime where you have your cellphone out video recording.

(6) Walking with a group of people in a neighborhood.

(7) We got an anonymous call that someone fitting your description…. (arguably a tactic to illegally detain and search)

….And many more. Feel free to include them. Many times it all starts with a conversation. Innocent enough but not really. I’ve heard it stated by attorney’s NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE. I tend to agree with that because if you are the target(and you dont really know that in the beginning) – it will never end well for you. Anything you say – won’t be used to help you, it will only be used to hurt you.

The Next question is – Have they violated your rights to this point? Well – NO they have not(unless you get no reasonable suspicion responses from them). 9/10 times, we waive our rights and allow them to violate them because, we do not understand our rights -1 and worse, we do not understand or know how to assert them during a consensual encounter with Law Enforcement- 2.

It is our responsibility to elevate our understanding about the Country we live in, the Magna-Carta, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights are our authorities and our guide. LEO obeys the Statutory Law although they have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution – arguably, they are in default. As LEO elevates their tactics in the field; on how to circumvent our Rights – It is our responsibility to ourselves, our family and our community to learn, understand, practice and assert our God given Rights when confronted with the heavy hand of the Government or when, As Adam Kokesh would say – “When the MAN tries to hold you down.”

THE SECRET OF FREEDOM LIES IN EDUCATING PEOPLE, WHEREAS THE SECRET OF TYRANNY IS IN KEEPING THEM IGNORANT. -Maximillien Robbespierre

I am not a history or a Constitutional Scholar. I digress to those that have studied these documents and their historical and present day significance in our lives. I do know that, We the People of this country, must elevate our understanding and our rights, the laws and their application as they relate to us on a personal level. We must know this better than the defacto governments sitting in our local chambers and city hall’s running our community. We must assert our rights and gain back the freedoms that we have willingly waived to the Police State. This will never happen from the top down. It’s a grassroots enlightenment of the great American Hoodwink. Get involved and elevate yourself!

And if you do not remember anything that I have said in this post remember that Law Enforcement Officers are not hired because they are remarkably smart or have a high IQ. On the contrary, they are recruited, specifically, with lower IQ’s because they are prone to loyalty not intellectual disobedience and uncertainty. The task before us is reasonably attainable. Look what we are working with…